Chapter 20 - To Learn (1/2)
Chapter 20: To Learn
Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
What Xiao Zhao said was like a bucket of cold water, it soaked Li Sui completely. “Where are you now? I will meet with you, bring me to the port to look for Lu Shang. I can’t reach him.”
Xiao Zhao could hear the anxiousness in Li Sui’s voice, he said, “Lu Lao Ban is a careful person, he will be fine. You should calm down.”
Li Sui knew very well he was overreacting, but no matter what, he just couldn’t calm himself. The scene of Lu Shang leaving this morning replayed in slow motion in his mind. Li Sui suddenly remembered a saying, whenever people part ways, the tiny details of their last seconds would become especially clear. That thought fueled his anxiousness, he really wanted a pair of wings, then he could fly to the port and find Lu Shang.
The rain was pouring heavily outside, the whole city plunged into darkness. Li Sui couldn’t idly sit around any longer, he took out a set of rain equipment and rushed out the door. There were no longer pedestrians on the streets, only a few soaked stray dogs dashed across the fields. Li Sui heard nothing but rain and wind. The rain had an oceanic scent, it was salty and bitter. Blown by the wind, raindrops slashed onto Li Sui’s face. Li Sui was out here for less than five minutes and was already soaking wet, he never knew that typhoons on a tropical island were so terrifying.
Li Sui walked on the streets with difficulty, finally he was able to hire a taxi.
Hearing where Li Sui wanted to go, the driver looked taken aback. “Look, kid. It’s not that I don’t want to bring you there, but the place you are going to is very close to the sea. That’s very dangerous.”
Li Sui took out a stack of cash, handing it to the driver, “Is this enough?”
Taxi drivers that would work even in this weather, were either thrill seekers or people who are in real need for money. As expected, the driver hesitated, finally deciding to drive Li Sui there.
The driver didn’t dare go too fast since there were small pieces of rock and sand in the wind, they made terrifying sounds when they collided with the windshield. Both of them were tense, the driver didn’t like the mood, so he turned on the music and began chatting with Li Sui, so that he could relax himself as well. “With this weather, everyone’s hiding at home. Why do you want to go to the port?”
“Finding someone.”
“Oh my. Must be a family member, right?”
Li Sui paused, then he replied “hm” lightly.
“It will be fine, I’m sure that person is safe.” The driver comforted Li Sui.
The rain didn’t show any signs of subsiding and they drove all the way to somewhere near the port, but before they got there, they were stopped by the traffic police.
“You can’t enter.” The traffic police said.
“I’m just going to find a person.” Li Sui replied.
“No one’s in there, all the people evacuated. Turn back.”
“What about at the sea?”
“Today, no ships departed after three, all the ships that departed before that are accounted for. Whoever you’re trying to find is not here. Turn back!”
Li Sui froze, the driver didn’t know what to do either. At that moment, Li Sui’s phone rang, it was from Xiao Zhao.
“Xiao Li…why is it so noisy at your end?”
Li Sui immediately closed the taxi door, “What’s wrong?”
“Liu XingMing just called, he asked me to pick them up from the International Hotel. Lu Lao Ban is there too, don’t worry.”
Li Sui felt all four of his limbs go limp, “He…”
“They didn’t go out to sea at all, seeing that the weather wasn’t good, they only went to the construction site. Where are you now? Why do I hear the rain? Don’t tell me you actually went out to find him?”
Li Sui swallowed, “I see. Thank you.”
“What’s the matter? Did you find the person you’re looking for?” The driver asked.
Li Sui nodded, he kept thinking that Lu Shang would definitely be here on the way. He wasn’t thinking clearly, in his mind, he only wanted to come as soon as possible. Li Sui felt like an idiot, he was angry, but he was also relieved.
The driver saw Li Sui’s expression, it was like he wanted to cry but also laugh. The driver tried asking, “So what now? Are we heading back?”
“Go to the International Hotel.”
As if the weather was fighting with them, when they arrived at the hotel, the rain had mostly stopped. The wind was still strong, but it was a lot weaker than when Li Sui went out. However, the temperature seemed to have dropped, Li Sui shivered as he got out of the taxi.
Li Sui’s hair was mostly dry because of the wind, but his clothes were still soaking wet, mud and water stuck to his trousers. He got out of the taxi in a complete mess. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lu Shang standing at the entrance of the hotel, holding a champagne glass. He was talking with some people, it seemed like he was bidding farewell to the guests.
Li Sui suddenly recalled the farewell party; the board members were holding a farewell party for Lu Shang. As if he just got his brain back, he hesitated and didn’t go over.
The person standing at the entrance noticed him, seeing Li Sui, a rare, startled expression surfaced on Lu Shang’s face. Lu Shang scanned Li Sui carefully and asked, “Why did you come here?”
Li Sui stared at Lu Shang from afar, his eyes turned red. As if he was wronged but also glad. In that second, Lu Shang could sense that this person staring at him, this person wanted to jump and hug him. Only that, due to the crowd, he couldn’t.
The wind was still blowing strong, a corner of his blazer flew up as Lu Shang walked over to Li Sui. He rubbed Li Sui’s soaked clothes and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
Li Sui shook his head, as if a ball of cotton was in his throat, he couldn’t utter a sound.
Lu Shang didn’t ask anymore, he just held his hand and passed through the crowd, bringing him to a private room on the second floor. The hotel workers quickly brought a dry change of clothes to them. Li Sui changed into the clothes and sat on a chair, letting Lu Shang blow his hair dry with a drier.
“Where’s your phone? Why didn’t you pick up?”
Lu Shang answered while fiddling with Li Sui’s hair, “My phone’s out of battery, I didn’t bring it with me. Did you forget?”
Li Sui choked a bit, then he said sulkily, “Then you can at least bring a spare phone.”
The corners of Lu Shang’s mouth lifted slightly, “I was with manager Liu all that time, if you want to find me, you could’ve called him.”
Finally, Lu Shang knew why this kid looked so spiritless. This was the first time Li Sui sulked in front of Lu Shang, it was also very likely the last time. While Lu Shang felt blissful, he was also a bit touched, he never knew Li Sui valued him so much that one unanswered phone call was able to wreck his mind.
Lu Shang had a small hunch, it seemed like things were already developing into a direction he couldn’t control.
“Director Lu, are you inside?” Someone knocked on the door.
Lu Shang turned the hair drier off, “Yes?”
“It will be your turn to speak on stage soon.”
“Coming.”
Li Sui sneezed then he sniffed his nose.
“Did you catch a cold?” Lu Shang combed his hair, tidying it.
Li Sui shook his head, “I’m fine, it was cold outside, that’s all. I will be great again after sleeping, you should go.”
Lu Shang could hear his stuffy nose. Running around in the storm and standing in the freezing wind, all the while worried and anxious, it must have been hard. Now that Li Sui finally saw Lu Shang and loosened up, all the little problems came out immediately. Remembering how Li Sui stood at the entrance with a pair of puppy dog eyes made Lu Shang feel guilty. He looked a lot like an abandoned German Shepard puppy who just found his owner again. Moreover, he was solely responsible for not picking up the call.
A bunch of people were waiting outside, Lu Shang walked to the door, then stopped. He turned back and asked, “Do you want to learn?”
Li Sui curled up in the coat and paused for a bit.
“To manage a company, do you want to learn how?” Lu Shang asked.
Li Sui finally came to his senses and realized, there might not be another chance. He sat straight and replied, “I want to.”
“Good.” Lu Shang said with a deep voice, “Starting tomorrow, I will teach you myself.”
When Lu Shang said he would teach Li Sui, it wasn’t just talk. The next day, when they got off the plane, they headed to the bookstore. They brought a bunch of new books home, there were both Chinese and English ones.
“You already have some basic knowledge, so now focus on remembering the academic principles.” Lu Shang flipped the books opened, he marked the content with a red pen. “The chapters marked with the red circles are the ones you should focus on. I will teach you the details after you read through them.” After saying that, he handed the books to Li Sui.
To cram ten years of knowledge into a specialized, elite course, required an innate gift. But more than that, it required hard work, it would be a huge challenge to one’s patience and perseverance.
“You are a clever person, but it is impossible to manage a company without the required knowledge.” Lu Shang smiled, “It takes time.”
Li Sui’s cold wasn’t healed completely yet, he swung his dizzy head away from the pile of books, asking, “You have read all these books before?”
Lu Shang leaned on the back of his chair, he randomly flipped open a book with the title <<Management>>, “When I was your age, I was already applying for my MBA.”